Personal protection firearm

Abstract

A firearm for personal protection purposes is provided which is particularly useful in close combat situations. The firearm comprises a support which is in the form of a finger ring which has a barrel defining a chamber and has a trigger operated firing mechanism operable by the thumb of the same hand of a person as that on which it is worn. The trigger is rotatably mounted to the side of the ring and is spring loaded towards a cocked position.

What I claim as new and desire to secure by Letters Patent is: 
     
       1. A personal protection firearm comprising a support member shaped to be worn on a user's finger and assuming the form of a finger ring, a breech block and firing pin carried by the support member and defining the rear end to a barrel and associated firing chamber in the support member, the firing chamber being adapted to accommodate a cartridge therein, the barrel being axially slidable within a bore in the support member and spring biased towards the firing pin, the barrel having a lug fixed thereto extending through a slot in the support member such that the lug serves as a means for cocking and firing the firearm, a trigger mechanism being rotatably mounted to the support member, the trigger mechanism being in the form of a spring loaded notched plate the plane of which is substantially perpendicular to the lug, the axis of rotation of the plate being substantially perpendicular to the plate, the spring loading on the plate being such that when in use the lug is slid forward bringing the firearm to a cocked position the plate rotates to a position in which the notch engages the lug to hold the lug and barrel forward and cocked, and by rotating the plate to a position where the notch is disengaged from the lug, the lug and barrel slide backwards to fire the firearm. 
     
     
       2. A personal protection firearm as claimed in claim 1 in which the axis of the barrel extends parellel to the axis of the ring. 
     
     
       3. A personal protection firearm as claimed in claim 1 in which a cover flap is provided for covering the outlet end of the barrel in an inoperative condition and is movable to function as a flash protector in the operative position. 
     
     
       4. A firearm as claimed in claim 1 in which the breech block is in the form of a plug engaged in an end of a bore through the support member. 
     
     
       5. A firearm as claimed in claim 4 in which the breech block is cup-shaped with the inner surface of the skirt defining the cup aligning with the bore in the support member. 
     
     
       6. A firearm as claimed in claim 5 in which the breech block is rotatable between a "firing" position in which a recess in the skirt aligns with a slot to receive a laterally extending slide, and "safe" position in which the edge of said skirt obscures the path of movement of said slide to prevent firing of the firearm. 
     
     
       7. A personal protection firearm as claimed in claim 1 wherein the trigger mechanism has a lateral protrusion fixed to the plate for engagement by the thumb of a user to fire the firearm.